Chapter Seventy-Four: Be Clear-headed

After almost completely annihilating the bottle-shaped garrison sent by Yang Ye to carry out a tentative attack, Qian Yuanshan and others took advantage of the momentum of destroying nearly 3,000 people on the other side to carry out a round of demonstrative artillery strikes on the other three camps of the Han army, on the one hand, it shook the will of the Han soldiers to fight, and on the other hand, it also wanted to provide more excuses for Yang Ye to retreat, so as not to lose face because of the defeat and withdrawal of the army in the eyes of the Northern Han army and people. I never thought about it, but it just fired dozens of shells at the other party's camps, but it caused so much panic among the other party's soldiers that more than 10,000 people dispersed in a hurry, and Yang Ye was finally able to contain only 2,000 remnants of the soldiers around him.

However, this kind of misjudgment is also quite normal. As the party that has absolute superiority in science and technology, tactics, equipment, and so on, it is impossible for all the officers and men of the "Flying Dragon Army" from top to bottom to understand the fear and helplessness of the officers and men of the Han Dynasty when they are faced with powerful weapons that they completely do not know and have never heard of or seen before. And this kind of fear and helplessness, coupled with their more or less superstitious thoughts, makes it easy for them to associate the powerful firearms of the "Flying Dragon Army" with the gods, with the heavenly soldiers and generals, and with the punishment of the heavens. Especially when they saw or heard that the three thousand men and horses in the shape of a bottle had disappeared in an instant, this fear and helplessness had reached the extreme.

Therefore, the dozens of shells that fell into the camp became a straw that broke the camels' back, and they completely collapsed -- it was indeed a complete collapse, and after the Han army was dispersed, the "Flying Dragon Army" seized heavy grain and grass, gongs, drums, tents, weapons and equipment, and almost filled the entire fortress. So much so that in the retreat jihua formulated by the "Flying Dragon Army" later, there was no list of items captured in this battle at all, but planned to throw away all the other materials except for some food, so that those Han troops who would definitely reoccupy Dabaoshu in the future could live quite comfortably for a period of time.

However, it was precisely this situation that caused some of the officers and men of the "Flying Dragon Army" who had received the order to tell them that their own army might also withdraw in the direction of the bottle after the Han army retreated. In particular, some low-ranking officers felt that the hasty escape of the Han army gave them the feeling that "Lao Tzu is the best in the world," and they believed that with such a formidable strength of the "Flying Dragon Army," it was really overkill to occupy a small military fortress of the other side -- and they would soon have to give it up -- and could not at all reflect the true strength of the "Flying Dragon Army." In their opinion, since the Han army is so vulnerable in front of the "Flying Dragon Army", it is not impossible for the "Flying Dragon Army" to simply give the other party a victory to pursue, and conquer Fanzhi County, Yanmen County, and even the most Daizhou in one fell swoop, and even occupy Xinzhou and Taiyuan. When the time comes, all the people and horses in Youzhou will be transferred, and it will be no problem to be a festival envoy of one side of the secession side or even be the emperor of the soil behind closed doors, and it will save you from being cautious and always careful in Youzhou, and you will try your best to cover it up with such a strong strength, for fear of being discovered by others.

Although these people have limited knowledge and don't know what their surnames are after winning one or two battles, it is precisely because of their limited knowledge and lack of assertiveness that as long as the forward command and senior officers of the "Flying Dragon Army" give a little beating and guidance, it will not take a few days for this trend of thought to fall silent. But the actual situation is not like this, except for some low-level officers and soldiers, a small number of senior officers and even the traversers in the forward command have this thought, which makes Qian Yuanshan, Zeng Zhilin, Yang Xin and others have to attach great importance to and actively deal with it.

Among these officers and soldiers whose thinking fluctuated, the highest status and the greatest influence were none other than Muter and Xin Feiyu. As the youngest and most immature member of the forward command, Muttel is the most enthusiastic about conquering cities, likes to convince people with his strength in everything, and wants to lead troops into battle at every turn. In the one-sided massacre in the morning, if it weren't for Qian Yuanshan's repeated instructions before the battle, and gave him a death order that he must follow Jihua's execution, this guy would probably not have retreated immediately as Jihua wrote when he encountered the Han cavalry coming to rescue the Han infantry, but relied on his own armor and weapons to have an advantage, and led his rangers to fight and fight hard with the other party. ,

At this time, seeing that the tens of thousands of troops of the Han army were scattered by their own artillery fire, and even Yang Jiye, who was famous in his previous life, Yang Wuving, hid in Fanzhi City and did not dare to come out, this guy's self-confidence exploded instantly, and his ambition to conquer the city and conquer the world swelled rapidly. When those low-level officers and soldiers who had moved their minds were still only whispering in private, Muttel had already begun to lobby frequently with Qian Yuanshan and other members of the forward command, hoping that everyone could support his idea of sweeping away the Northern Han, or at least the Daizhou.

In addition to Muttel, who has the clearest attitude and is the most active in attacking the city, Xin Feiyu, a newcomer to the team and deputy chief of staff of the forward command, has also expressed this idea to several other brothers on different occasions. It's just that Xin Feiyu, who has passed the age of establishment, is far deeper than Muttel, who is in his twenties, and the way he expresses his opinions is more subtle, leaving more room for himself to turn around.

The identities of Muttel and Xin Feiyu determine that the harm that these unrealistic ideas may cause is far greater and more serious than those low-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers who have the same thoughts. Therefore, after putting up with them for two days, Qian Yuanshan, Zeng Zhilin, Yang Xin and others finally didn't want to endure it anymore, and they had to beat these two stunned brains.

On the night of the 26th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, that is, two days after the collapse of the Han army, Qian Yuanshan gathered all the members of the forward command to discuss the next move, so as to correct the erroneous thinking of Muter, Xin Feiyu and others. However, considering the face problems of Mu and Xin, at the beginning of the meeting, they did not go straight to the topic, but everyone expressed their opinions and expressed their views on the next move of the army, which led to the question of whether to continue to move forward and turn Daizhou of the Han State and even Xinzhou and Taiyuan upside down; Or just withdraw the troops, turn around and break through the bottle-shaped barricade, and then return to Youzhou for the issue.

Mu and Xin, who could only privately persuade a few brothers to agree with their views, were naturally very happy to see that their proposal had the opportunity to be discussed at the meeting of the forward headquarters. Therefore, Muttel was the first to speak and carefully explained his theory of conquering cities and conquering the world. After he finished speaking, Xin Feiyu also expressed his thoughts, and made certain additions and improvements to Muttle's statement, making the action plan they proposed seem more executable.

After Mu and Xin finished speaking, Qian Yuanshan and the others glanced at each other, Tang Chao coughed lightly, and was the first to speak according to the prior agreement, questioning the theory of Mu and Xin: "Thirty-fifth brother and Feiyu brothers, as you just said, the 'Flying Dragon Army' is far ahead of the Han army in terms of equipment and tactics, and it can also be said that it is far ahead of all the armies of this era. With these advantages, the 'Flying Dragon Army' can indeed be called invincible, invincible all over the world. But you should also see that this kind of jishu and tactical advantage that makes the 'Flying Dragon Army' invincible is precisely the biggest weakness of the 'Flying Dragon Army'. ”

"The biggest weakness? How do you say this? Muttel asked, somewhat incomprehensible.

"This is actually very understandable," Tang Chao explained, "The biggest advantage of the 'Flying Dragon Army' is in firearms, and with the advantage of firearms, our soldiers can be ten with one, or even one as a hundred." Firearms are not only a powerful weapon, but also a weapon that requires very high and demanding logistical support, especially ammunition supply. When logistics are smooth and ammunition is plentiful, it is a murderous weapon. However, when logistical supply difficulties, ammunition supply is insufficient, or even ammunition supply is interrupted, its effect may not be as good as a burning stick. Even with a bayonet, its effectiveness is far inferior to that of a spear or a horizontal knife. But the question is, who can guarantee that our logistics supply will never have problems and will always remain unimpeded.

Don't say that Yang Ye has seen firearms and knows a little about firearms, and the generals who have been in battle for a long time, even if they are the most ordinary generals, after fighting with us a few times and having a certain understanding of firearms, I am afraid they will also think of cutting off our logistics supply to force us to either slow down or even stop the attack, or disperse our forces and use more liliang to protect the logistics supply line, so that the attack is weak. ,

Taking a step back, even if the generals of the Han army will never be able to discover the weakness of our firearms, this tactic of "cutting off the enemy's food routes, causing the enemy to mess up due to lack of food, and then attacking them" is effective in any era. In the case of an incapable head-on confrontation, the generals of the Han army will definitely adopt this tactic of small cost and big gain to deal with us.

In addition, although the Han army was defeated in the First World War the day before yesterday, more than 10,000 people collapsed and fled in a blink of an eye. But failure is failure, fear is fear, it does not mean that the Han army is just a group of wooden carved clay dolls, they also have thoughts, they will also learn from the pain, and they will also use their brains to think of countermeasures.

Just because they're panicking at the power of firearms for the first time doesn't mean they'll always be like that. Maybe the first time you panic and fear, the second time you panic and fear, and even the third time you will panic and fear, but what about after five times? What about after ten times? When they have become accustomed to the power of firearms, and are familiar with the methods of using firearms to fight, and then fight against us, although they may still be at a disadvantage, brother, I can guarantee that unless they are new recruits who go to the battlefield for the first time, they will never be like the day before yesterday, and they will be scattered in a hurry after a few shots. On the contrary, they will find tricks and find solutions, they will summarize and share various methods of dodging and blocking firearm shots, and they will find out the weaknesses of our weapons to deal with us, so that the advantage in our weapons is getting smaller and smaller.

And, over time, these methods of dealing with firearms will spread outward. Once these methods are mastered by our real enemy, then one day, when we confront him head-on, we will pay a price, and this price will not be compensated for by occupying a few cities in the Northern Han Dynasty. ”

Although he felt that Tang Chao was reasonable, Muttel still refused to admit defeat and argued: "If we are short of manpower, we can transfer it from Liangxiang again." It is not impossible for 3,000 'Flying Dragon Army', 1,000 people to escort grain, grass and ammunition, and 2,000 people to conquer the city. ”

"What about after conquering the city and capturing the enemy's cities and fortresses?" Yang Xin answered, "Are you planning to pass through the city and kill the next target, or do you want to hold on to the city in order to repel the enemy's counterattack?" ”

"Since we have occupied the city, it is natural to send some people to defend the city, and the rest of the people will continue to attack, otherwise, what is the use of me attacking this city?" Muttel didn't quite understand Yang Xin's purpose in asking this question.

"According to the opinion of the thirty-fifth brother, how many troops do you need to defend a county seat?" Yang Xin continued to ask.

"In my opinion, brother, with the combat effectiveness of our 'Flying Dragon Army', with the assistance of recruiting a part of the people, it is enough for 1,000 people to defend a county town." Muttel thought for a moment and said.

"As you just said, of the three thousand 'Flying Dragon Army', 1,000 are responsible for maintaining smooth logistics, and 2,000 are responsible for storming cities. If you want to send a thousand people to defend one city, then after you capture two cities, you will have no soldiers in your hands, thirty-five brothers, so what will you do to continue the attack? Yang Xin made a simple calculation for Muttle.

"Well, we can continue to expand the army." Although Muttel gave an answer, his tone was obviously much weaker than just now - having experienced the last expansion of the army, he naturally knew how much effort it would take to train an ordinary person into a qualified soldier, and how much manpower, material and financial resources he would need to invest.

By now, the conclusion has become clear. Just when Muttel was still looking for an excuse for himself and refused to admit defeat immediately, Xin Feiyu had already fully understood the purpose of the other brothers holding this meeting today, and at the same time understood how unrealistic his previous ideas were. Therefore, he stopped Muttle, who was still looking for a reason, and saluted Qian Yuanshan and the others and said: "Thank you brothers for your education and reminder, it was Feiyu who thought things too simply, or was carried away by the victory in front of him. Rest assured, Feiyu will never make such a mistake again. ”

Seeing that his only ally took the initiative to admit to his brothers that his idea was incorrect, Muttel had no motivation to continue to persevere, and he also followed Xin Feiyu's example and made self-criticism.

As the saying goes, "Knowing mistakes can be changed, and being good is great", since Mutel and Xin Feiyu have corrected their attitudes and no longer insist on that unrealistic idea, others will naturally no longer bother with them in this matter, and they have said that the two of them are serious, everyone is brothers, and it is too angry to always say these words of admitting mistakes and guarantees.

The differences were eliminated, and the atmosphere of the meeting became more and more harmonious, and the brothers soon came to a unanimous opinion -- they immediately sent a telegram to the committee, demanding that the deployment be adjusted, that the part of the original action plan that attacked Fanzhi County should be abandoned, and that they should immediately return to the division bottle-shaped fortress, break out of the wall, and return to Liangxiang.

);